#9 – Robert Hagg, LD – Modo, SEL

Without a doubt the biggest wildcard in this year’s draft. Due to his inconsistent play, it’s really tough to get a read on this guy. He went from being a guy who wasn’t supposed to play on Sweden’s WJC team (injury fill-in for Hampus Lindholm) to playing a key-role for that team to looking frustrated and/or even disinterested to some extent in the U18 tournament. To me this shows that there is maybe some immaturity in his game but the fact that he was able to play UP to the competition shows that he’s certainly got a lot of upside. His passing ability is off the charts and watching him play, there was something about him that reminded me of Scott Stevens (without the huge open-ice hits), but a current comparable would be Karl Alzner. I liked too much of what I saw from him at the WJC though and for that reason, he’s in my top 10. I think this is going to be a homerun pick for some team.